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George Diller: ... ...Five, three main engines up and burning, two, one and liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis, opening a new chapter in the completion of the
International Space Station for the collaboration of nations in space.

MISSION CONTROL: Roger, roll Atlantis.

Atlantis' flawless launch began a historic journey to resume construction of the International Space Station.

Atlantis' flawless launch began a historic journey to resume construction of the International Space Station.

But not before a freak lightning strike at the pad, the potential threat from Tropical Storm Ernesto and a fuel cell problem postponed the launch for more than 10 days.

Despite the delays, Atlantis was deemed safe to fly and up, up and away into orbit it went on a glorious September morning.

The rendezvous and pitch maneuver to check the belly of the orbiter for damage went smoothly.

Docking went like clockwork and the astronauts were enthusiastically greeted by the Expedition 13 crew.

For the first time in nearly four years, a new element called the P3/P4 truss segment was delivered to the station.

The new solar arrays will eventually double the station's onboard power when their electrical systems are brought online during the next shuttle flight.

During the first of three spacewalks, Tanner and Piper took center stage to prepare the station’s newest component

In a second spacewalking expedition, Burbank and MacLean successfully unfolded the solar arrays, spanning 240 feet long and 38 feet wide.

For Tanner and Piper, a third spacewalk to complete their tasks lasted six hours.

After saying farewell to the Expedition 13 crew, the astronauts made the two-day trek back to Earth.

Landing was delayed for 24 hours so the Atlantis crew could inspect the thermal protection tiles after a mysterious object was seen floating in orbit alongside the shuttle.

The orbiter was pronounced fit to land and Space Shuttle Atlantis glided to a perfect, early morning touchdown at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility completing the STS-115 mission, one of NASA's busiest shuttle missions in history.